Inaugural Silicon Valley Beer Week Upon Us

At long last, Silicon Valley Beer Week (SVBW) is here. Today, Sunday, July 26, is the official start day, the first of seven days devoted to all things related to beer throughout the South Bay and neighboring areas.

At last count, the Venues page of the SVBW website listed 88 venues and organizations, and the Events page listed 180 beer-related specials and events.

Considering that there is only one designated event today – the Kick Off Party at Gordon Biersch Brewery (357 E. Taylor St.) – and just one dedicated event on the last day, Aug. 3 – the Summer KraftBrew Fest (Post St.) – that means there are 178 events taking place starting tomorrow and over the next five weekdays of this inaugural beer week.

Some might feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices, while others might feel like a big kid in the proverbial candy store.

Each of the event listings on the website has a brief description with some more expansive than others. The latest issue of Metro Silicon Valley newspaper also has a list of most of the events.

A review of the events shows that there is a great variety of events and activities to appeal to just about anyone, including those relatively new to the joys of good beer, the more experienced beer drinker, and the beer connoisseur.

A review of the venues shows that a number of the participating venues and organizations appear to be advertising beer-related events for the first time, while the establishments and organizations with proven track records have coordinated intriguing programming schedules.

Clicking on a particular venue or organization takes you to a list of all their associated events and specials.

It is nice to see the following mainstays of the South Bay and neighboring beer scenes, as well as several recently publicized upstarts, participating in the inaugural SVBW:

• Beerwalk
• California Cafe Los Gatos (50 University Ave.)
• Campbell Brewing Company (200 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell)
• Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company (935 Washington St., San Carlos)
• Faultline Brewing Company (1235 Oakmead Pkwy., Sunnyvale)
• FireHouse Grill & Brewery (111 S. Murphy Ave.)
• Firehouse No. 1 Gastropub (69 San Pedro St., Downtown San Jose)
• Freewheel Brewing Company (3736 Florence St., Redwood City)
• Good Karma Vegan Cafe (37 S. First St., Downtown San Jose)
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant (33 E. San Fernando St., Downtown San Jose)
• Gourmet Haus Staudt (2615 Broadway, Redwood City)
• Harry’s Hofbrau Redwood City (1909 El Camino Real)
• Harry’s Hofbrau San Jose (390 Saratoga Ave.)
• Hermitage Brewing Company (1627 S. 7th St., San Jose)
• Jack’s Bar & Lounge (167 E. Taylor St., San Jose)
• Los Gatos Brewing Company (163 W. Santa Clara St., Downtown San Jose)
• Market Beer Company (175 W. St. John St., Downtown San Jose)
• O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub (25 N. San Pedro Square, Downtown San Jose)
• Original Gravity Public House (66 S. 1st St., Downtown San Jose)
• Poor House Bistro (91 S. Autumn St., Downtown San Jose)
• Rootstock Wine Bar (217 N. Santa Cruz Ave., Unit B)
• Scott’s Seafood Mountain View (420 Castro St.)
• SmokeEaters Cupertino (10650 S. De Anza Blvd.)
• SmokeEaters Downtown San Jose (29 S. Third St.)
• SmokeEaters Santa Clara (3175 Mission College Blvd.)
• Spread (193 E. Campbell Ave., Campbell)
• Steins Beer Garden (895 Villa St., Mountain View)
• Teske’s Germania Restaurant (255 N. First St., Downtown San Jose)
• The Farmers Union (151 W. Santa Clara St., Downtown San Jose)
• Whole Foods Market Cupertino (20955 Stevens Creek Blvd.)
• Wicked Chicken (2565 The Alameda, Santa Clara)
• Wine Affairs (1535 The Alameda, San Jose)

The following event listings look to be especially enticing:

Monday, July 29

• Campbell Brewing Company – Food Pairing Beer Bash
• Freewheel Brewing Company – Hand Pump Hijack Plus Pub Quiz
• Liquid Bread Gastropub – Beer Social with Anchor Brewing
• Los Gatos Brewing Company – Brew Master’s Dinner
• Market Beer Company – Green Flash and Ninkasi Brewery
• Original Gravity Public House – Cismontane Beer Dinner
• Wine Affairs – Firestone Walker Keepin’ it Classy

Tuesday, July 30

• California Cafe Los Gatos – Ballast Point Brewmasters Dinner
• FireHouse Grill & Brewery – Chef and Brewer’s Dinner
• Good Karma Vegan Cafe – Bring Your Own Vinyl and Fermented Food Pairing
• Harry’s Hofbrau San Jose – Almanac Beer Co.
• Jack’s Bar & Lounge – Can Beer Extravaganza
• Original Gravity Public House – Pucker Up Sour Fest 2.0
• Scott’s Seafood Mountain View – IPA Beer-Pairing Menu
• Steins Beer Garden – Lost Abbey/Port Brewing Tap Takeover
• Whole Foods Market Cupertino – Home Brewing 101
• Wicked Chicken – Meet the Brewer Night Featuring Santa Clara Valley Brewing’s Steve Donohue
• Wine Affairs – Dogfish Head Ancient Ales

Wednesday, July 31

• Beerwalk – 20 Craft Beers at 20 Downtown Campbell Businesses
• Firehouse No. 1 Gastropub – A Night of Beer and Food
• Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant – Meet the Brewer Jeff Liles
• Harry’s Hofbrau Redwood City – Stone BBQ Food Pairing with Dr. Bill
• Harry’s Hofbrau San Jose – Drake’s Specialties and Cask Beers
• Market Beer Company – Ballast Point
• O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub – Hangar 24 Tap Takeover
• Original Gravity Public House – Lunch with Dr. Bill from Stone Brewing Company
• Poor House Bistro – Blues and $2 Imperial IPA Brews
• Teske’s Germania Restaurant – New German Beer Release Featuring Live Music by the Flying Dutchmen
• Wine Affairs – Clown Shoes Circus

Thursday, August 1

• Good Karma Vegan Cafe – Oaked, Smoked, and Stone Cold Delicious!
• Gourmet Haus Staudt – Sour Beer Not Kraut
• Harry’s Hofbrau San Jose – New Belgium Tap Takeover
• Market Beer Company – Allagash at the San Pedro Square Market Bar
• O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub – Coronado Tap Takeover
• Rootstock Wine Bar – Tap Takeover with Strike Brewing Company
• SmokeEaters Cupertino – Norcal Flights
• SmokeEaters Downtown San Jose – Socal Flights
• SmokeEaters Santa Clara – Grand Opening with Stone Tap Takeover
• Spread – South Bay Brewery Tap Takeover Featuring 10 Bay Brewers Guild Breweries
• Steins Beer Garden – The Bruery Tap Takeover
• The Farmers Union – All Hopped Up Beer and Cheese Pairing
• Wine Affairs – Beer Trivia!

Friday, Aug. 2

• Devil’s Canyon Brewing Company – New Brewery Open House with Live Music, Food Truck
• Faultline Brewing Company – Beer and a Bite
• Good Karma Vegan Cafe – The Family Rue and the Beer They Brew
• Harry’s Hofbrau Redwood City – Go Wild with Allagash!
• Harry’s Hofbrau San Jose – Sierra Nevada Tap Takeover
• Hermitage Brewing Company – Calypso Single Hop IPA Release Party and the New Tasting Room
• Liquid Bread Gastropub – Ice Cream Social
• O’Flaherty’s Irish Pub – Stone Brewing Tap Takeover and Scotch Pairing with Dr. Bill
• Original Gravity Public House – Ballast Point and Green Flash Sitting in a Tree
• Wine Affairs – Blind Double IPA Tasting

As can be seen, there are choices galore.

[This post was shared on Examiner.com.]